Fettle rehabilitation service

At Fettle inpatient and community mental health rehabilitation service we place the patient at the centre of the rehabilitation pathway. Staff from the community and hospital (inpatient) team work together to support our patients. The teams are located together in Fettle House at Bodmin Hospital.

We work with the patient to create and maintain a trusted, therapeutic relationship. We aim to minimise the impact of coming into the hospital. We call this an inpatient admission.

Referrals and assessment

We accept referrals from all adult psychiatric inpatient wards within Cornwall. We also accept referrals from other units in England for patients who live in Cornwall.

We use the Camberwell assessment of needs to conduct our assessments. These are reviewed regularly with our patients using the DIALOG scale. DIALOG is a scale of 11 questions. Patients rate their satisfaction with 8 life domains and 3 treatment aspects on a 7-point scale.

We also use the whole life approach, as recommended by the World Health Organisation.

As a team, we have a philosophy of care that all staff aim to achieve. This is to provide high-quality and compassionate care by respecting a person's choices and empowering them to make decisions about their lives.

Our service covers the whole of Cornwall.

Fettle House, inpatient unit

Fettle House is our open rehabilitation ward. It has 12 beds which are available to both men and women. Each person has an ensuite bedroom, and access to communal areas.

We provide rehabilitation for people who have severe and enduring mental health problems. This means people whose mental health affects their ability to do the everyday tasks many of us take for granted.

Each person will have been assessed as needing hospital services to help them develop and improve the quality of their life or prevent admission to an acute psychiatric ward.

We also offer a respite bed. This is available to people who live in their own homes. Each person will have been assessed as requiring some extra, temporary support to help them stay well at home.

To promote independence and individuality, we have our own policies and procedures. These include self-medication, catering, and security.

We provide treatment, therapy, and life skills to help prepare people for life outside the hospital. This work is continued by our community team when a person leaves the hospital. They also use the whole life approach.

Fettle rehab community team

We offer rehabilitation to people with severe and enduring mental health problems. This includes people with psychosis which is complicated by dual diagnosis and/or treatment resistance.

We have a particular focus on giving people the skills they need to live independently. We encourage people to take part in activities. All our patients have been assessed as having rehabilitation (rehab) needs.

Social inclusion

We also have a team of 5 social inclusion workers who are led by a nurse. Each worker will support between 10 and 15 people at a time.

We work with people who have been in hospital for more than 6 weeks or who have had multiple stays in hospital in the last 2 years. We will work with the person to identify how we can help them to remain well at home.

We look at 5 key areas:

1. Finance or money.
2. Housing.
3. Employment .
4. Education.
5. Hobbies or recreational activities.

These areas help us to see if one or more are getting in the way of a person's recovery.

We work alongside the people we care for and look for innovative ways to help them recover their lives regardless of disability. For example, we will work with our patients to help them achieve their goals. This could be attending a course run by a local college. Several patients have achieved this goal. Attendance at a college can help our patients achieve long-term goals, for example getting a job.

Parking and access

It is free to park at Bodmin Hospital.

There is a small amount of car parking outside the entrance to Fettle House. A larger car park is available on the main hospital site. 

The closest disabled parking spaces are located outside the hospital's main entrance. 

Staying in touch with someone who is in hospital

We know staying in touch with friends and family is very important  when you are in hospital.

Patients can bring their mobile phones onto the ward. Our only ask is that calls are made in private. We do not allow patients or visitors to take photographs on the ward. This is because we respect the privacy of our patients. 

There are 2 mobile phones on the ward. These are available to patients who do not have a phone. These are mainly to allow people to receive calls. The telephone numbers are 07831 542484 and 07831 542475. We will also help patients to make calls if they need to.

If patients went to video call and don't have their own device, we also have an iPad.

Visiting a patient 

Read the latest visiting guidelines.